Shloka 2
Chapter 43: Tumult of Battle-Sounds and the Proliferation of Dvandva
Paired Engagements
अधश्चोर्थ्व प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवाला: । अधश्च मूलान्यनुसंततानि कमनिबन्धीनि मनुष्यलोके*
adhaś cordhva-prasṛtās tasya śākhā guṇa-pravṛddhā viṣaya-pravālāḥ | adhaś ca mūlāny anusantatāni karma-nibandhīni manuṣya-loke ||
അതിന്റെ ശാഖകൾ താഴെയും മുകളിലുമായി വ്യാപിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു—മൂന്നു ഗുണങ്ങളാൽ പോഷിതമായി, വിഷയഭോഗങ്ങളെന്ന কোমളമുളകളോടെ; മനുഷ്യലോകത്തിൽ കർമബന്ധം സൃഷ്ടിക്കുന്ന അതിന്റെ വേരുകളും താഴോട്ടു നീണ്ടു വ്യാപിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Saṃsāra is portrayed as a vast tree whose growth is fueled by the three guṇas and whose shoots are sense-objects; its roots are karmic tendencies that bind beings, especially in the human realm where choice and action intensify bondage. The ethical implication is to recognize how desire and guṇa-driven action sustain entanglement, preparing the seeker for detachment and liberation.
Arjuna, in dialogue with Kṛṣṇa, continues the description of the cosmic ‘aśvattha’ (world-tree). He explains how its branches extend in all directions and how its roots—identified with karma-producing bonds—spread and bind beings in the human world, setting up the need to cut this tree through spiritual knowledge and renunciation.